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Vodafone shareholders set for £54bn payout in Verizon deal

Vodafone shareholders are set to receive a £54.3bn payout following the sale of the group’s 45 per cent stake in Verizon Wireless to US telecoms group Verizon Communications.

The deal, valued at a total of £84bn, was confirmed yesterday by Vodafone in an announcement on the London Stock Exchange after the close of trading.

Talks of a possible sale between the telecoms group and Verizon Communications originally began last week, with the value of the sale confirmed in an earlier stock exchange announcement from Monday morning.

As part of the deal, Vodafone shareholders are set to receive a combination of all the Verizon shares and cash, totalling £54.3bn.

Vodafone Group chairman Gerard Kleisterlee says: “Our sustained investment in Verizon Wireless has created a great deal of value for shareholders from a market leader with great momentum. Verizon’s offer now provides us with an opportunity to realise this value at an attractive price.”

Vodafone is a favoured stock in the UK. The Legal & General Ethical fund has the largest exposure to the telecoms group, followed by Scottish Widows UK All Share Tracker, Fidelity Global Telecommunications and RWC Income Opportunities.

The announcement also includes details of Vodafone’s £6bn in its own business to implement a new investment programme, Project Spring, over the next three financial years. The project will focus on the development of 4G networks.

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19th December 20188:33 am

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